Lionsgate

Coming soon to your TV: A whole network dedicated to Tyler Perry. Yes, one different than TBS.

According to the New York Times, Lionsgate and Perry are forming Tyler TV, a network dedicated to Perry's projects, including TV shows and movies. The plan for Tyler TV is to make the network home to reruns of Perry's sitcoms and movies. Third-party content that "meshes with Mr. Perry's Christianity-tinged brand" will also be purchased.

Perry's sitcoms on TBS include 'House of Payne,' 'Meet the Browns' and the newest, 'For Better or For Worse.' Both 'Payne' and 'Browns' started off strong for TBS, pulling in more than 5 million and 4 million viewers, respectively. Their numbers have dropped, but continue to be some of TBS's top-rated programs.

What do you look for in a DVD set? Are you the type of person who expects to see a lot of extras (commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, bloopers, deleted scenes, documentaries, etc) because DVDs allow us to have all of those things and it would be a ripoff for the consumer if we didn't get them? Or are you the type of person who is just happy to have the actual episodes to watch over and over again whenever you want and you don't really care about the extras?

You're in the middle? What a politician.

I lean towards the former for newer shows and towards the latter for older shows. Though I would love to have commentaries and features for older shows, I realize that's not always possible. I ask this because the DVD set for the third season of AMC's 'Mad Men' has cast and crew commentaries for every single episode. Let's take a look at that feature and everything else in the set.

Filming for the third season of Mad Men starts in a few weeks (and starts on AMC in August), but some folks want to watch season two again (or for the first time). Here's the cover for the season two DVD package and here are the extras.

At the risk of sounding all wimpy and lame, let me just say "Yee-hah!"

Mad Men creator/producer/visionary Matthew Weiner signed a deal with Lionsgate earlier today after several months of back and forth. The deal secures Weiner for two more seasons of the show, and not only includes a deal for developing more TV shows but also includes a deal for movies.

There aren't any hard numbers on the deal (not yet anyway), but it is believed to be in the seven figures. Of course, that's a no-brainer. As if it wasn't going to be at least $1 million. But it's probably a helluva lot more than that. AMC might have helped with the money.

This is fantastic news. I suppose that Mad Men would have gone on regardless (it was picked up for a third season by AMC), but it wouldn't be the same without Weiner. Now everyone can breathe a sigh of relief, get back to work, and make sure those episodes debut this summer as planned.

Lionsgate, the studio that produces both that AMC show and Showtime's Weeds, has bought both TVGuide.com and The TV Guide Network. This may come as a surprise to readers who thought that they were sold a couple of weeks ago to someone else. Turns out that deal was final yet and Lionsgate came in quickly with another offer and it was OK'd.

Among the Hollywood industry insider columnists, Nikki Finke's hit rate is pretty high, so it's troubling to read a report from her about the acrimonious contract negotiations between Lionsgate and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. It's gotten so bad that Finke is reporting that Lionsgate is calling around looking for someone to replace Weiner as show-runner.

As everyone else in the industry is saying: What the hell?

Mad Men just finished its second season with record ratings. It's the first basic cable show to win an Emmy for Best Drama, and Weiner is the show's heart and soul. Believe me when I tell you that it's his vision and attention to detail that you see in every scene. Weiner gave critics a tour of the sets during the July TCAs, and he was able to speak about the look and feel of the show as easily as he was able to talk about the stories and characters. I can't imagine anyone else running the show, even if it's someone that's already on staff.

I've been waiting for Crash the TV series to materialize ever since I heard about it shortly after the movie premiered in May, 2005. The Starz/Lionsgate series will feature 13 episodes with a different cast of characters from the film.

I've had a major crush on Sizemore since he played Sgt. Vinnie Ventresca on China Beach during the 1989-1990 season. Sure, he's had some challenging times. According to his IMDB.com page, in February, 2005, he failed a court-ordered drug test after he was caught trying to use a prosthetic penis to fake the results. And that was the second time he was caught trying that.

I mentioned in my review of the first Mad Men episode that the show makes me want to start smoking and drinking a lot. Now I have another reason to take up smoking (or should I say return as I did smoke for one summer as a teen): I got the two new collectible lighters yesterday.

They're both pretty damn cool and look a lot like the limited edition, lighter-shaped DVD set for the first season of the show. The limited edition lighter features the full Mad Men logo (the title and the back of the man's head and arm) and is numbered (only 1000 were made). It comes in a nice black case. The regular lighter is metal and features the Mad Men title (without the pic of the man) on the bottom of the front.

AMC is spending $25 million to promote the second season of the show (commercials, print ads, promotional products, tie-ins, etc), which premieres on July 27, and I'm all for spending that kind of money if it gets me cool collectibles like this. Now I have to go get a few cartons of Lucky Strikes and a couple of really nice suits. (Check back on July 21 as we'll be giving away some Mad Men goodies like the DVDs and one of these lighters, so you can start smoking too.)

This is news that leaves me somewhat torn. On the one hand, I really like horror movies, and by extension, I'm pretty fond of scream queens. On the other hand, just hearing about this show calls to mind the train wreck that was E!'s Kill Reality, and that isn't a happy memory. I suppose it also sounds a lot like Joel Silver's Next Action Star, which wasn't all bad. But then, I might just be trying to talk myself into liking it because that picture of Lexa Doig (Jason X) is staring at me.

The new show will gather ten unknown actresses to compete for a role in a horror movie from Lionsgate Films. The contestants will compete in challenges and be judged by an as yet unnamed director. I'm guessing there will be blood, and possibly chainsaws. The drawback is that it's not on HBO or Showtime, so despite having an acting coach on hand, these girls are all going to be cheated out of that valuable topless-in-the-steamy-locker-room training. I feel for them.

The series is set to premiere in the fall and play out over eight hour long episodes. My expectations are low, but there is just enough there to get me to tune in at least once.

Dennis Hopper is set to star in the new original series Crash, produced by Starz and Lionsgate. This is the first drama series for the network. Based on the Academy Award-winning movie, Crash has begun filming in New Mexico and Los Angeles. Sanford Bookstaver (Jericho, Bones, The O.C.) will direct the premiere episode.

According to the press release, the show "will continue to focus on an ensemble cast of characters" and "will explore the complexities of social tolerance in contemporary America by digging at the meaning of what it takes to reach the American dream." Hopper will play Ben, a veteran, maverick producer in the music biz who is looking for his last big score. Other stars include Clare Carey, Luis Chavez, Ross McCall, Jocko Sims, Brian Tee, and Arlene Tur. Crash will come to Starz in October.

Watch your backs, HBO and Showtime! This show looks good. And Paul Haggis is on the team of executive producers. He didn't just give us Crash. He gave us thirtysomething and The Black Donnellys. Don't mess with the Hag.

Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM are launching a new premium cable channel next year that will likely strip Showtime of much of its theatrical movie content. Showtime was originally a sister company to Paramount until 2006 when Viacom president and CEO Les Moonves split the two companies into separate entities.

One of the reasons cited for this move was by the Showtime's vice president of corporate public relations Stu Zakim. He stated that the network no longer wanted to pay "outrageous license fees" for theatrical content.

This is actually a natural progression for the bigger name cable channels. As they develop more original content, they no longer need to rely on the movie studios to provide content for them. This is a far cry from the early days of cable television when HBO and Showtime were known as the channels from which you could watch R-rated movies in the comfort of your own home.

Online video site Hulu officially launches tomorrow. The site which was founded as an online content distribution clearinghouse for NBC and News Corp TV shows, movies, and clips, has added a ton of content partners over the last few months. And when it emerges from private beta tomorrow, there will be a few more, including:

Warner Brothers

Lionsgate

NBA

Wine Library TV

NHL

CNet

MGM

All told, the site will have a few dozen content partners, about 100 movies and full length episodes from about 250 TV shows.

I've been relatively impressed with Hulu so far. The video quality is good, and it's relatively easy to find the content you're looking for by searching or browsing. But as the content library gets larger, I'd like to see Hulu improve its site navigation a bit or browsing is going to become nearly impossible.

Starz, the cable network, is getting into original production and their first project will be based on the 2005 Best Picture Oscar-winning film Crash. Glen Mazzara, whose credits include Life, The Shield, Stand-Off and Nash Bridges, has been named executive producer/showrunner for the drama series. Lionsgate TV will co-produce with Starz, and they've greenlighted 13 episodes.

The controversial film, which dealt with the intersecting lives of a myriad of people living in Los Angeles in just 48 hours, centers on the character of Detective Graham Waters. Waters, a police detective, is struggling with his career, his drug addict mother and a criminal brother. The role was played by Don Cheadle (Picket Fences), who was also one of the film's producers. He is expected to reprise the part in the Starz production and may even direct a few episodes. In addition, director/co-writer/producer Paul Haggis and others from the film are also on board for Starz.

If you've watched 30 Rock this past season, you've seen how funny actress Edie Falco can be. As C.C. (Celeste Cunningham), she's been a hoot opposite Alec Baldwin. Well, Showtime noticed, and they announced today that the three-time Emmy-winner, best known as Carmela on The Sopranos, will star in a new show for their network. She'll be playing a "strong-willed, iconoclastic New York City nurse juggling the frenzied grind of an urban hospital and an equally challenging personal life" is the 30-minute, single camera, dark comedy.

With Lionsgate reaching a deal with the writers, it wouldn't be surprising if more studios made agreements with them so as to compete. This could lead to a more rapid end to the strike, which would make me much happier.